Stupid, but on the bright side, if we even find ourselves in a situation where we're going to need a shiat-load of cargo aircraft in a hurry (like a major war), we'll have enough until production ramps up.

Of course, it's not the military's fault: Blame the politicians who use military funding to get jobs for their districts, essentially purchasing votes.

They have all been disposed of or will be on completion. Seven have gone to the US Army for Special Forces trainers. the remaining fourteen are going to the USCG in exchange for seven older C-130H models which are to be completely refurbished by the USAF (including wing boxes) and then transferred to the USFS (as title holder) for use as Air Tankers by private companies under contract to the USFS, probably using the MAAFF2 system.

They have all been disposed of or will be on completion. Seven have gone to the US Army for Special Forces trainers. the remaining fourteen are going to the USCG in exchange for seven older C-130H models which are to be completely refurbished by the USAF (including wing boxes) and then transferred to the USFS (as title holder) for use as Air Tankers by private companies under contract to the USFS, probably using the MAAFF2 system.

This is what happens when you don't listen to the general telling the congressional committee "We don't need that. We don't even want it.". The Army is having the same issue with tanks, it's getting a whole crapload of tanks it neither needs nor wants.

WhyteRaven74:This is what happens when you don't listen to the general telling the congressional committee "We don't need that. We don't even want it.". The Army is having the same issue with tanks, it's getting a whole crapload of tanks it neither needs nor wants.

It's not that they don't listen to them, it's more that money talks and Lockheed has lots of it and Generals don't.

vpb:WhyteRaven74: This is what happens when you don't listen to the general telling the congressional committee "We don't need that. We don't even want it.". The Army is having the same issue with tanks, it's getting a whole crapload of tanks it neither needs nor wants.

It's not that they don't listen to them, it's more that money talks and Lockheed has lots of it and Generals don't.

And that defense contractors are smart enough to ensure the things are using lots of districts to be built. Why buy one politician when you can get several?

Well, in the first place, it says that they were originally ordered in 2007, and sequestration forced their mission to be reconsidered. This isn't WalMart, they couldn't just get to the Cargo Plane Checkout and say ' I don't want these, you'll need to put them in the GoBacks cart.'. The planes were ordered, they take awhile to be built, and the contract stipulates they get delivered.

In the second place, the "boneyard" has all kinds of planes ready to go in almost no time. Fill up fluid reservoirs, drop engines in on some, remove engine covers on others, throw tires on. A lot of the planes out there are just waiting to be made ready, they aren't "scrapped" in any way, so it's the perfect place to store planes that aren't going to currently get used.

They have all been disposed of or will be on completion. Seven have gone to the US Army for Special Forces trainers. the remaining fourteen are going to the USCG in exchange for seven older C-130H models which are to be completely refurbished by the USAF (including wing boxes) and then transferred to the USFS (as title holder) for use as Air Tankers by private companies under contract to the USFS, probably using the MAAFF2 system.

You see, we're already using a Keynesian jobs program to keep the economy afloat. Too bad we didn't do it in a way that created something we actually could use, and with more money going to regular people and less to Lockheed Martin.

TwistedFark:ZAZ: But sequestration forced the Air Force to re-think the airplane's mission, and it determined that they were not a necessity, according to an analyst with the Project for Government Oversight.

I like sequestration. It reminded us that budget cuts are not the end of the world, and we can do without some government spending.

Spoken like someone who got a paycheck to feed their family during that time.

vpb:They have already served their purpose, so it doesn't matter what happens to them now.

All American taxpayers should be grateful they were allowed to have a role in such a great achievement.

It is predominately an Italian aircraft, with only the final assembly being done in the US.

FWIW, if they're going to be used to replace 30-40+ year old firefighting air tankers, then the wrangling was worth it. Those pilots won't know how to act with a plane that isn't older than the pilots (or in some cases the fathers of the pilots).

Mikey1969:Well, in the first place, it says that they were originally ordered in 2007, and sequestration forced their mission to be reconsidered. This isn't WalMart, they couldn't just get to the Cargo Plane Checkout and say ' I don't want these, you'll need to put them in the GoBacks cart.'. The planes were ordered, they take awhile to be built, and the contract stipulates they get delivered.

In the second place, the "boneyard" has all kinds of planes ready to go in almost no time. Fill up fluid reservoirs, drop engines in on some, remove engine covers on others, throw tires on. A lot of the planes out there are just waiting to be made ready, they aren't "scrapped" in any way, so it's the perfect place to store planes that aren't going to currently get used.

Whoa whoa whoa. This is fark. What are you doing using logic around these parts? We only have room for outrage here.

Actually, part of this appears to be an inter-service pissing match: The US Army wanted the aircraft to replace some of its less-capable, older, and smaller C-23 cargo aircraft. This probably pissed off the Air Force, which would have seen a growing Army fixed wing fleet as an abrogation of the various agreements dating back to the Key West Agreement, in which the Army is limited. The C-27J could have been used for assault transports, which is by agreement an Air Force mission, not a military mission. The Air Force saw it as competition for their bigger, longer-ranged C-130's.

So, the Air Force took over the C-23J fleet, and actually flew them for a bit in Afghanistan, then decided they liked the C-130 better anyway, so they're mothballing all the C-23J's that they mostly didn't want in the first place, but they couldn't let the actual military have their own transport aircraft.

FTFA: "An Air Force spokesman said the program was "too near completion" to be able to terminate the program in a way that does not cost the taxpayers more than building the airplanes and sending them immediately to the boneyard."

Could there be any better indication of how wasteful and self-serving government has become, that they can't just shut down a wasteful program. Even better, according to the article, 21 of these planes cost $567 million, which equals $21 million per plane, yet, "the C-130 can do everything the C-27J can at nearly $100 million less per airplane." This means that Lockheed is willing to pay us $79 million apiece for flying their planes, a real deal, no matter how you slice it.

Mikey1969:Well, in the first place, it says that they were originally ordered in 2007, and sequestration forced their mission to be reconsidered. This isn't WalMart, they couldn't just get to the Cargo Plane Checkout and say ' I don't want these, you'll need to put them in the GoBacks cart.'. The planes were ordered, they take awhile to be built, and the contract stipulates they get delivered.

But they are still, at this moment, making more of them. It's not that they began the process, and once it was done had extra. They are still building the planes, knowing exactly where they will go.

"But the C-27J Spartans are parked in the desert, and more are being built and delivered into storage. An Air Force spokesman said the program was "too near completion" to be able to terminate the program in a way that does not cost the taxpayers more than building the airplanes and sending them immediately to the boneyard. "

I'm wondering how it would cost us more to stop building them, than to build them.

dittybopper:Stupid, but on the bright side, if we even find ourselves in a situation where we're going to need a shiat-load of cargo aircraft in a hurry (like a major war), we'll have enough until production ramps up.

Of course, it's not the military's fault: Blame the politicians who use military funding to get jobs for their districts, essentially purchasing votes.

Do you suppose they'll want old planes for their next war, or brand new planes?I bet money it'll be the latter.

/There are dozens of jobs that could use these aircraft, there's no reason for them to sit./Send a few to the Caribbean so we can upgrade our airliners at least.

croesius:I'm wondering how it would cost us more to stop building them, than to build them.

Well, considering how big of a contract it is, the early termination fee(With no airplanes to show for it) is probably higher than paying the full cost and actually HAVING airplanes to show, even if they go into storage. That's what I would think the answer would be. Maybe we save $150 million by paying the termination fee, but we've already paid $200 million for the fee, yet don't have a single plane, for example.

flak attack:Mikey1969: Well, in the first place, it says that they were originally ordered in 2007, and sequestration forced their mission to be reconsidered. This isn't WalMart, they couldn't just get to the Cargo Plane Checkout and say ' I don't want these, you'll need to put them in the GoBacks cart.'. The planes were ordered, they take awhile to be built, and the contract stipulates they get delivered.

In the second place, the "boneyard" has all kinds of planes ready to go in almost no time. Fill up fluid reservoirs, drop engines in on some, remove engine covers on others, throw tires on. A lot of the planes out there are just waiting to be made ready, they aren't "scrapped" in any way, so it's the perfect place to store planes that aren't going to currently get used.

Whoa whoa whoa. This is fark. What are you doing using logic around these parts? We only have room for outrage here.